Eleven ever-faithful attendees successfully and happily got together to enjoy each other's company at our 66th Anniversary and Christmas Reunion, despite the horrendous traffic situation all over Metro Manila, and some ailments here and there. Our alumni president Fernando Campos, VP-TreasurerAniano Bagabaldo, Amador Casino (who just recently lost his wife Liz, our condolences),Ponciano Bernardo and Johnny Billote came stag, whileJose Macario Laurel IV arrived with wife Letty, Tomas Carununganwith wife Raquel,Victor Perez with daughter and granddaughter (thank you Vic, for coming all the way from Cagayan), Luz Rodriguez with hubby Roger Ramos,Ely Gomez with a niece, and myself.

UP celebrates High School division Centennial with all-classes reunion

The University of the Philippines celebrated the centennial of its high school division with a grand reunion of all high school alumni at the University Diliman campus last Saturday, December 10, 2016. UP High alumni from around the world attended the event.

No one from our class of 1950 was able to participate. Classmate Mercia Crisostomo-Aquino had planned to attend but was inhibited at the last minute. Nevertheless, Mercia provided the link to an article written by alumnus Boo Chanco in the Philippine Star issue of December 14, 2016.

It was a 2-day fest. A smash bang party organized by his wife Vilma and made the more notable by his children and grandchildren. It was a celebration of Abe Pete Manansala’s 84th birthday on Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21, 2016.

12 ‘upright and kicking’ alumni brave travel hazards to meet up for day of fellowship

By Ophie O. Lagmay

Twelve 1950 U. P. H. S. graduates still upright and kicking after 65 years, braved the traffic on EDSA to gather at the swanky Nichols Airport Hotel owned by the Protacio family in Baclaran. What a magnificent panoramic view of the skyline from the 8th floor penthouse!

Inspite of traffic woes and issues with old age, 19 “sprite, early octogenarians” make it 64 years after leaving school

Patsy Putong-Sison chronicles the UP High School Class of 1950’s record-breaking 64th Anniversary and Christmas reunion held Saturday, December 20, 2014 at the traditional venue - the Legend Hongkong Seafood Restaurant in Pasay City. The event also was cause to celebrate the birthdays of classmates born July through December.

Pacita Putiong-Sision reports on the UP High Class 1950 Alumni Association 64th anniversary mid-year celebration which was preceded by a pre-reunion meeting. The pre-reunion meeting - a planning session - was held Sunday, May 3, and the mid-year reunion and January-June birthday celebration festival was held Saturday, June 28, both at the traditional venue: the Legend Hongkong Seafood Restaurant in Pasay City.

Eighteen classmates meet, reminisce, make promises, and celebrate some birthdays

By Ophie Ongkingco-Lagmay

A breezy and sunny Friday, December 27, 2013 brought together eighteen UP High Class 1950 graduates, still strong, sprite and up on their toes (or pretending to be) to the Legend Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant in Pasay City, a place renowned for its delicious and sumptuous food.

Twelve classmates got together at Legend Hongkong Seafood Restaurant - the usual venue for reunions - last June 28 for another of their “balik-saya” moments that included greeting January-to-June birthday celebrants.

Ophie Ongkingco-Lagmay reports that class president Paking Floro characterized the gatherings as “getting to be happy and sad affairs . . . happy because we are able to see each other again after sometime and enjoy each other’s company” but “sad because of dwindling” attendance.

Because there was news of an approaching typhoon, the class ended its balik-saya meeting at 9:30 PM.

NAC Chairman Roger Austria and son Albert visited with classmate Sylvia and her husband Lu Gamboa on October 22 and 24 at their Dove Canyon, CA home. They also met up with Joe and Donna Peczon who happens to live in the same Dove Canyon community as the Gamboas.

The Peczons are mutual friends of the Gamboas and Austrias. Joe Peczon is a UP medical school classmate of several UP High 1950 alumni.

Each year - on Veterans Day (November 11) - we salute our veterans who served their countries (the Philippines and the USA) with honor, valor, and great sacrifice. The men and women who entered the armed services of their country were prepared to give up their lives. This, by any measure, is the gold standard of courage and love of country.

Classmate Serge ’Hot Lava’ Domondon was the proud recipient of his late father’s Congressional Gold Medal, an award in recognition of the elder Domondon’s service during World War II in the Philippines.

The award was made at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Honolulu, May 5, 2018.

Tuesday, April 24: Mercia Crisostomo-Aquino received this brief note from Ophie Ongkingco-Lagmay: “Yasmin (Andrea’s daughter) sends good news: Andrea is now recuperating at home, although paralyzed. She is undergoing therapy.”

Balikbayans Bert and Chelita Garcia meet Mercia Aquino and family at the Okada Manila

On a recent “balikbayan” trip to Manila, classmate Bert Garcia and wife Chelita met up with classmate Mercia Crisostomo-Aquino and her husband - retired General Ernie Aquino - for a brief reunion at the popular Okada Resort Hotel & Casino.

We received two messages: one from classmate Mercia Crisostomo-Aquino who we heard underwent a heart procedure shortly before Christmas last year, and another from Letty Laurel - wife of classmate Jose Macario “Peping” Laurel IV - that related Cario’s experience with the same procedure three months earlier. Classmate Fe Abarquez-Suaco, who was in the Philippines to attend her brother’s funeral learned of Mercia’s situation during a routine phone call, while Letty Laurel was responding to the news about Mercia’s operation.

The year 2017 had been good to classmate Serge ‘Hot Lava’ Domondon and his family. In a “Love is everything” message to his UP High 1950 classmates, the Hot Lava provides the updates on wife Rose and the rest of the Domondon clan.

Classmate Walter Butler once again proved that age is no barrier to athletic fetes and capabilities. All one needs is to be a graduate of the University of the Philippines High School, specifically a member of the Class of 1950!

Walter – along with 62 other members of the Las Vegas Masters (LVM) Swimming Team coached by Victor Hecker – placed third overall in the recent USMS-sponsored National Swimming Championship held in Riverside, CA last April 27 through 30, 2017.

Led by Manansala family “Speaker of the House” Abe Pete, friends and family from as far away as Australia trooped to San Francisco on Saturday, June 24, 2017 to help celebrate Vilma Manansala’s 80th birthday.

When Abe Pete and Vilma Manansala noticed that Ophie Ongkingco-Lagmay was not being heard from nor seen lately, they decided to drop her a line. As Abe Pere reports, Ophie “responded with dispatch and clarity worth of sharing.”

As the founder and first president of the UP Club of America (1971) and the UP Alumni Association-Wisconsin (1974), classmate Roger Austria was invited to induct the 2017 officers and board members of the UP Alumni Association-Greater Chicago Area and to deliver the keynote address at the organization’s December 3, 2016 membership meeting.

Harry James Butler, like his brother Walter, is a member of the UP High School Class of 1950. Harry was in Section II-B of the class as shown in the 1948 Yearbook. The UP High School at the time was at the its old Padre Faura campus.

Harry appears in the class picture for Section II-B, Class of 1950, in the 1948 Yearbook. Classmate Ruben Piczon was the class president.

Classmate Mercia Crisostomo-Aquino reports on the recent celebration of UP High School/UP Integrated School’s 100th year of existence. The school also announced the scheduling of its all-alumni reunion set for December 10, 2016 at the high school campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

UP Elementary School grad? Join the ‘UP Elementary School Diliman’ Facebook group

Al Escobar, an alumnus of UP High (1978) and the UP Elementary School (1974) is inviting members of UP High Class 1950 who may have studied at the UP Elementary School to join the Facebook group UP Elementary School Diliman, a closed group open to all alumni of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, who were enrolled at the elementary school.

Classmate Sylvia Roque-Gamboa was honored on her 80th birthday with a party tendered by three of her siblings (Dr. Joe Roque, Francis Roque, and Frances Felix) and her three children (Richard Gamboa, Ginny Majer, and Debbie Jorgensen).

Abe Roger and Abe Siony Austria are once again proud ‘lolo’ and ‘lola’

In an email to classmates, Roger and Siony Austria proudly announced that they have been graced with a second grandchild - Benjamin Paul - born Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington.

The UP High Class 1950 North America Chapter announced details of their 2018 Reunion which will be held in the San Francisco (California) Bay Area between August 12 and 17, 2018. NAC released the schedule of activities for reunion participants.

So far, the following classmates (and their spouses) have confirmed their attendance and participation in the reunion: Roger and Siony Austria, Julius and Norma Willis, Walter and Barbara Butler, and Pete and Vilma Manansala. Considering to participate are Sylvia and Lu Gamboa, and Serge and Rose Domondon. Other classmates interested in joining should contact Pete Manansala.

The reunion will feature the participation of some of the classmates’ children, including the Manansalas (Paul, Tina, and Art), the Butler sons, and Butch Austria.

Five classmates and their spouses meet for a 5-day Fellowship in sunny San Diego

Five classmates and their spouses met in Southern California for five days of fellowship August 25 through 29, 2017. The five are NAC chairman-for-life Roger Austria, Pete Manansala, Walter Butler, Julius Willis, and Sylvia Roque-Gamboa. Each was accompanied by their spouse: Siony Austria, Vilma Manansala, Barbara Butler, Norma Willis, and Lu Gamboa.

Reunion activities took place across southern California - including Rancho Santa Margarita in Orange County, National City, San Diego, Shelter Island, and Coronado Island.

Classmate Syl Gamboa and hubby Lu are in on the the new White House occupant

If you’re a Democrat or an Independent and felt pretty low when your candidate for president lost in the last election, feel low no more: our classmate Sylvia Roque-Gamboa and her husband Lu are in on the new White House occupant!

Abe Pete meets Abe Julius, they trip to San Francisco and celebrate a friend’s birthday

Classmate Pete Manansala and his wife Vilma took an AMTRAK trip from their home in Sacramento to Hayward to spend a weekend with classmate Julius Willis and wife Norma, and to help celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Walter Butler wins two swim event medals in the 2014 World Senior Games

We are happy to report that classmate Walter Butler won two medals - a silver in the 50-meter and a bronze in the 100-meter freestyle swimming events, respectively - during the 2014 Huntsman World Senior Games held in St. George, Utah October 8 through 10.

Classmates meet in San Francisco for two days of fun, talk Hawaii 2014

Classmates Julius Willis and Pete Manansala and their spouses Norma and Vilma met May 22 and 23, 2014 for a two-day mini-reunion in the San Francisco Bay Area. Click here to read the full account as posted in the “UP High 1950” group page on Facebook.

UP High 1950 has a new class member: Walter Butler. Although Walter graduated in 1949 (a year ahead because he took summer classes), he was formally inducted into the rolls of Class 1950 by NAC chairman Roger Austria.

A trail of email messages will for now introduce us to Walter, and tell us how he was discovered, until we have more on him: pictures, profile, etc.

Classmate Anatolio B. Cruz, Jr., a retired captain in the U. S. Navy’ medical corps, is the proud father of Anatolio B. Cruz III and Raquel Cruz Bono, both of whom are admirals in the U. S. Navy.

Rear Admiral Raquel Bono was in the news recently when she was placed in command of the navy’s Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical operation. Admiral Bono is shown in the picture receiving the command flag from assistant secretary of defense Karen Guice.

It was just weeks earlier that the famous Hawaiian molten rock known as The Hot Lava and sometimes referred to as Sergio Domondon had a quintuple heart bypass operation before he was traipsing about the island to meet classmate and NAC chairman Roger Austria.

For an entire day they drank and dined and partied about while visiting the great sights of the famous ”big island.”

I received a call from Rose Domondon that Serge checked in at the hospital on Saturday (3/9/13) for an emergency heart bypass surgery. This was confirmed by Chelita Garcia (wife of classmate Roherto Garcia) who added that Serge had five (5) by-passes and that he is doing well. Let us pray for Serge's speedy recovery. Unfortunately, I have no information on the hospital where Serge is now recuperating. Here are Serge's contact information where you can send him best wishes:

Pete Manansala, Serge “Hot Lava” Domondon, and Julius Willis and their spouses met in Honolulu, Hawaii for a full day of fun on Sunday, October 28, 2012. In picture (from left) are Vilma Manansala, Pete, Serge, Julius, Rose Domondon, and Norma Willis. Hot Lava and Rose (with daughter Liana and family friend Scott Dirk) took Pete and Julius to important sites on the island of Oahu.

Pete Mansala and Julius Willis - and their spouses Vilma and Norma - met for a bit of Fellowship Sunday, October 11 and Monday, October 12, 2015. Pete and Vilma AMTRAK’ed to Hayward (where the Willises reside) from their Sacramento home.

The two-day mini-reunion took them to two Bay Area cities through dinner and lunch.

Six UP High 1950 classmates and their spouses from the US and Canada met in Honolulu, Hawaii Sunday, September 28 for a week of fellowship and fun. The six are NAC chairman Roger Austria, Bert Garcia, Serge Domondon, Pete Manansala, Walter Butler, and Julius Willis, and their spouses Siony Austria, Chelita Garcia, Rose Domondon, Vilma Manansala, Barbara Butler, and Norma Willis.

Read the day-by-day FULL STORY, including Renion VIDEOS, picture ALBUMS, and comments.